Friday 16 September to Sunday 11 December, Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre. Open from 11am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, and noon to 4pm on Sundays.

At the dawn of the 18th Century a Dutch king was sitting on the English throne. A new era in British politics and cultural life had begun. The exhibition showcases the archives of the Portland family held by the University’s Manuscripts and Special Collections to chart a tumultuous journey through 1685-1720.

The political turmoil of the Glorious Revolution saw the Catholic James II replaced with William of Orange. The exhibition explores fierce and familiar sounding, debates. Could a Catholic inherit the British crown and how should England and Scotland be governed under the crown? What were the rights and wrongs of free speech, and was the press dangerously powerful? How could the economy respond to a stock market bubble and crash? Playwrights, poets and authors revelled in the scandalous behaviour of monarchs and politicians.

The displays follow the figure of William Bentinck, one of William of Orange’s confidantes and advisors whose service was rewarded with the title Earl of Portland. He was the founder of a powerful political family, based at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. The Portland papers are a key source for this fascinating period.